hermaphrodite brig
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English [edit]
Noun [edit]
hermaphrodite brig (plural hermaphrodite brigs)
- (nautical) a two-masted sailing ship which has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast (triangular topsail over a gaff mainsail). As such it has a mix of the two main types of sail plan, hence the term hermaphrodite.
- 1846, Frederick Marryat, “The Privateersman”:
- About noon we saw a vessel on a wind to leeward of us, which was a source of great delight to us all, and we bore down to her. We soon made her out to be an hermaphrodite brig, under her close-reefed topsails and trysails.
- 1846, Frederick Marryat, “The Privateersman”:
Synonyms [edit]
- (two-masted sailing ship): brig-schooner; perhaps brigantine
